Name: Mary Harris Frazer
Ingredients: five gallons of water; 60 gallons of burgoo; 1 tablespoonful of salt; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 pint of chicken; 1 pint of milk; 1 tablespoon of fine whole wheat flour; one quart of this liquid into kettle over a quick fire; three sprigs of parsley; a piece of celery root; 5 shin bones of beef; 1 blade of beef; 12 chickens; 1 bushel irish potatoes; 12 cans tomatoes; 12 cans corn; 1 peck onions; 1 onion; 2 whole cloves; 6 pepper corns; 6 sliced tomatoes; one bay leaf; pepper; salt; cloves; white pepper

Why it works: Parsley and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,810 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Chicken + beeftop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,148 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,418 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Wheat + beeftop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together319 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef shin bones: Release collagen and flavour into the broth as they simmer for hours.
Chickens: Add rich meat and body to the broth during the long simmer.
Potatoes: Thicken the stew slightly as their starch breaks down while cooking.
Tomatoes: Add acidity and body, balancing the rich meat and sweet corn.
Corn: Adds sweetness and body to the stew as it cooks down.
Onions: Contribute savory depth and sweetness as they soften in the broth.

The step that matters

Cook the burgoo for 12 hours. A long, gentle simmer breaks down connective tissue in the meat and lets the thickened stew blend into a cohesive texture. Too fast a boil can toughen the meat and scorch the bottom of the kettle.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, chicken, milk, wheat, flour, celery, beef):

Cinnamonfits better
Turmericfits about as well
Nutmegfits about as well
Parsleythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, chicken, milk, wheat, flour, celery, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Mary Harris Frazer